Regarding Trams, delays etc. the Trams had no bearing on how long it took Apple to come to Edinburgh, they still managed to close the road partially when the council was creating mayhem and congestion just the next road up , the issue there was getting the right property, getting a partner to develop the whole building once they found it. (most of the building is a hotel) the delays with St James Quarter was an issue from the start as they were thinking being an anchor tenant there instead of going alone with this building and then there was issues with planning that caused headaches and more delays. The delays caused it's final partner Motel One to seek a second property which ended up opening a good while before this did. Luckily the hotel trade here hasn't suffered due the economic crisis so in the end was a win for all.
The building was TOTALLY stripped out, only the exterior front/side walls are original, everything else is new and bespoke. The windows took ages to be delivered after a few changes had to be made due to the council for example. they also had to add extra floors to the whole building. This caused dates to slip. Even up until recently there extra slight delays due to utility works needed for Apple to go live. Edinburgh is a nightmare for planning and this wasn't a simple (re)build. Even cleaning the exterior was restricted..
I think someone is pulling your leg, it's not near the top. In Scotland it's got a slightly higher spend per customer & purchase vs footfall rate but nowhere near UK wide.
Regarding the Tram cost it was slightly over engineered, built on the slow so contractors kept their jobs during the worst economic crisis and badly underestimated which led to costly disputes, and another good example of how hard it is to work in such a historic area of the city with so many restrictions. The utility's and what was was actually found under the road surface was a nightmare with very little mapped out. As stated the 700+ million includes all poles, rails, equipment and street furniture to complete the line to Newhaven (it's original end destination likely to happen in 2016/17) as well as the extra Trams they currently don't need. So it's not AS bad as it seems, although still eye watering to see written down!
The building was TOTALLY stripped out, only the exterior front/side walls are original, everything else is new and bespoke. The windows took ages to be delivered after a few changes had to be made due to the council for example. they also had to add extra floors to the whole building. This caused dates to slip. Even up until recently there extra slight delays due to utility works needed for Apple to go live. Edinburgh is a nightmare for planning and this wasn't a simple (re)build. Even cleaning the exterior was restricted..
I think someone is pulling your leg, it's not near the top. In Scotland it's got a slightly higher spend per customer & purchase vs footfall rate but nowhere near UK wide.
Regarding the Tram cost it was slightly over engineered, built on the slow so contractors kept their jobs during the worst economic crisis and badly underestimated which led to costly disputes, and another good example of how hard it is to work in such a historic area of the city with so many restrictions. The utility's and what was was actually found under the road surface was a nightmare with very little mapped out. As stated the 700+ million includes all poles, rails, equipment and street furniture to complete the line to Newhaven (it's original end destination likely to happen in 2016/17) as well as the extra Trams they currently don't need. So it's not AS bad as it seems, although still eye watering to see written down!
Last edited:
